Partition Action Complaint - Wyoming

WYOMING PARTITION ACTION — COMPLAINT (PETITION) FOR PARTITION OF REAL PROPERTY

IN THE DISTRICT COURT, [______] JUDICIAL DISTRICT, [____________________] COUNTY, WYOMING

Civil Action No.: [________________]

COMPLAINT (PETITION) FOR PARTITION

COMES NOW Plaintiff, [PLAINTIFF NAME], by and through counsel, and pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101 et seq., petitions this Court for partition of the real property described herein, and alleges:

I. PARTIES AND COTENANCY

1. Plaintiff is [☐ an individual residing at / ☐ an entity organized under the laws of] [________________________________].

2. Defendant [COTENANT DEFENDANT NAME] is, upon information and belief, [☐ an individual residing at / ☐ an entity with its principal office at] [________________________________].

3. Unknown persons claiming any interest in the Property, including unknown heirs, devisees, successors, and assigns of any deceased record cotenant, are joined as Defendants and may be served by publication where their identities or addresses cannot be ascertained after diligent inquiry.

4. Plaintiff and Defendants own the Property as cotenants (the "Cotenancy") in the following undivided fractional shares:

5. Plaintiff is a tenant in common or coparcener of the Property entitled to compel partition under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101.

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

6. This Court has jurisdiction over this partition action pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101 and Article 5 of the Wyoming Constitution.

7. Venue is proper in this County pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-102 because the real property that is the subject of this action is located in [____________________] County, Wyoming.

III. THE PROPERTY

8. The real property that is the subject of this action (the "Property") is located in [____________________] County, Wyoming, and is described as follows (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-103 requires the petition to set forth the parties' interests and a description of the property):

Legal Description:

[________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________]

Tax Parcel No.: [________________________________]

Street Address (if any): [________________________________]

Recording Reference: Book [______], Page [______] / Reception No. [________________], County Clerk of [____________________] County, recorded [__/__/____].

IV. RIGHT TO PARTITION

9. Plaintiff and Defendants hold record title to the Property as cotenants under the instrument(s) described in Paragraph 4, of record with the County Clerk of [____________________] County, Wyoming.

10. The cotenants are unable to agree upon the use, management, or disposition of the Property, and no agreement or instrument prohibits partition.

11. Plaintiff is entitled to partition of the Property pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101.

V. PARTITION IN KIND, APPRAISEMENT / ELECTION TO TAKE, OR SALE

12. ☐ Partition in kind. The Property is susceptible to physical division among the cotenants in proportion to their respective undivided shares, and the Court should order partition in kind and appoint commissioners to set off the respective shares pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-32-104 and 1-32-106.

13. ☐ Appraisement and election to take. If the commissioners determine that the Property cannot be divided according to the writ without manifest injury to its value, they shall appraise the Property pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-109, and any one or more of the parties may elect to take the Property at the appraised value upon the terms set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-110.

14. ☐ Sale. If no party elects to take the Property at the appraised value, the Court should order the Property sold pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-111, and the net proceeds distributed among the parties according to their respective interests pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-114.

15. The Court should appoint disinterested commissioners under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-104 to view and examine the Property, set off the shares where practicable, and otherwise proceed as provided by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101 et seq.

VI. ACCOUNTING AMONG COTENANTS

16. An accounting and equitable adjustment among the cotenants is necessary and should be incorporated into the partition decree, including the equitable adjustment of accounts between cotenants contemplated by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-119. The following credits, charges, and offsets are claimed:

a. ☐ Contributions. Sums advanced by Plaintiff for the common benefit, including [☐ mortgage principal and interest / ☐ real estate taxes / ☐ insurance / ☐ necessary repairs and improvements / ☐ assessments], in the approximate amount of $[____________].

b. ☐ Rents and profits. Rents, profits, or the reasonable rental value received or enjoyed by a cotenant in exclusive possession, in the approximate amount of $[____________].

c. ☐ Ouster. Defendant [____________________] has ousted or excluded Plaintiff from possession since [__/__/____], entitling Plaintiff to an offset for the reasonable rental value of Plaintiff's share during the period of exclusion.

d. ☐ Waste / diminution. Damage to or waste of the Property attributable to a cotenant, in the approximate amount of $[____________].

e. ☐ Owelty. Owelty payments necessary to equalize the value of in-kind shares set off by the commissioners.

17. The Court should adjust each cotenant's distributive share of the Property (or of the net sale proceeds) to reflect the foregoing accounting.

VII. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays this Court:

A. Determine the respective undivided interests of all parties in the Property;
B. Order partition of the Property and appoint commissioners under Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 1-32-104 and 1-32-106 to set off the respective shares in kind where practicable, with owelty as necessary;
C. If the Property cannot be divided without manifest injury, order an appraisement under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-109 and permit the parties to elect to take at the appraised value under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-110;
D. If no party elects to take, order the Property sold under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-111 and distribute the net proceeds under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-114;
E. Order an accounting among the cotenants and adjust the distributive shares for contributions, rents, ouster, waste, and owelty as set forth herein, pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-119;
F. Equitably tax the costs and expenses of the partition among the parties pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-122, and award Plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney's fees as permitted by law; and
G. Grant such other and further relief as the Court deems just and equitable.

Dated this [______] day of [____________________], 20[____].

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name], Wyo. State Bar No. [______]
[Firm Name]
[Address]
[City, State, ZIP]
Telephone: [(___) ___-____]
Email: [________________]
Attorney for Plaintiff

VERIFICATION

STATE OF WYOMING )
) ss.
COUNTY OF [__________] )

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], being first duly sworn, depose and state: I am the Plaintiff in the above-captioned action; I have read the foregoing Complaint (Petition) for Partition; and the allegations contained therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]
[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [____________________], 20[____].

[________________________________]
Notary Public
My commission expires: [__/__/____]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on the [____] day of [____________________], 20[____], I served a true and correct copy of the foregoing Complaint (Petition) for Partition upon the following, by [☐ personal service / ☐ certified mail, return receipt requested / ☐ authorized service of process / ☐ publication under W.R.C.P. 4], at the addresses below:

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name], Wyo. State Bar No. [______]
Attorney for Plaintiff

EXHIBITS

• Exhibit A: Legal Description of the Property
• Exhibit B: Deed(s) / Instruments Establishing Cotenancy and Shares
• Exhibit C: Title Report / Abstract
• Exhibit D: Accounting Schedule (contributions, rents, ouster, owelty)
• Exhibit E: Survey / Plat (for in-kind division)

PRACTICE NOTES (Wyoming)

• Court: District Court of the county where the real property is located (Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-102).
• Commissioner procedure: Wyoming uses a commissioner-driven partition. The court orders partition and appoints commissioners (§ 1-32-104), who view and set off shares (§ 1-32-106).
• Appraisement and election to take: If the estate cannot be divided according to the writ, the commissioners appraise it (§ 1-32-109) and any party may elect to take at the appraised value (§§ 1-32-109, 1-32-110) before any sale.
• Sale as last step: Absent an election to take, the court orders a sale (§ 1-32-111) and distributes proceeds (§ 1-32-114).
• No UPHPA: Wyoming has not adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act.
• Costs: Costs and expenses are equitably taxed among the parties (§ 1-32-122).

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-32-101 (Who compelled to make partition): https://codes.findlaw.com/wy/title-1-code-of-civil-procedure/wy-st-sect-1-32-101/
• Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 1, Ch. 32, Art. 1 (Partition — section list): https://law.justia.com/codes/wyoming/title-1/chapter-32/article-1/
• Note: Wyoming has not enacted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (verified against Title 1, Ch. 32, Art. 1).

END OF WYOMING PARTITION ACTION TEMPLATE